I bought saddle shoes.

I've wanted to visit Muffy's Saddle Shoes in Vernonia, Oregon for quite some time. Yesterday, I finally begged and pleaded and was able to hitch a ride with a couple of lesser saddle shoe enthusiasts--though I think it may be safe to call them FORMER lesser saddle shoe enthusiasts now...I mean, check out this classic cuteness:

Muffy and her husband Alan are hard to track down. They do most of their business online, but have a storefront that boasts having the largest inventory of new (Muffy's line) and vintage saddle shoes in the WORLD. Being so fancy, they don't have to keep regular business hours. Good thing there was a phone number taped to the door. When I arrived, all I had to do was give Alan a call and he and Muffy were there within three minutes to open the store up and allow me to prance around, navigating the sizes and stiffness of these classic school girl staples. Turns out I'm a 6D or a 6.5D. That's right. They recognize that feet aren't just all length and no girth. Geniuses? Maybe. Oldey time? Yes'm.

After much debate and rationalizing how much wear I actually got out of the classic black and white motif of my never-leave-home-without-them, gigantic bouncing souled, jr. high Doc Martens, I was convinced to go a bit more practical with a pair of soap and navy ones.

Oh Look! My old Friendster profile pic with my jr. high Doc Marten saddles
and high school prom dress!

I really really wanted the white and green, but alas, they didn't have my size in stock and I wasn't about to ruin the adventure of hunting this place down and poking through their stockpile of stuff by returning to Brooklyn empty handed and an empty promise of ordering them online. Booooring.

I'm a lot of things, but generally not a buzz kill.

They did have a boatload of stuff though including Reese Witherspoon's saddles from Pleasantville, a pair of Marilyn Monroe's, and a whole discombobulated mess of stuff that I rooted through when they weren't looking. I found that they are also interested in scratchy 50s sweaters and cheerleading uniforms and they even have a pair of Payless imposter pink and white saddles that I also had in my youth.

I would have to say that the best part of meeting Muffy and Alan and being allowed into their kooky obsession and yellowed showroom was when they told me the story about how their admiration for each others' saddle shoes brought them together across a crowded room. I would have thought it was their middle parts and long gray hair, but, they were telling me a story that took place in the past.  They're awesome and in love...with saddle shoes.

What a life, what an obsession, what a tough pair of shoes to break in...and weird ass picture of my foot.

 I think it'll be worth it.